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Gerald Martin Bordman (September 18, 1931 – May 9, 2011) was an American theatre historian, best known for authoring the reference volume The American Musical Theatre, first published in 1978.Simonson, Robert (12 May 2011). Gerald Bordman, Theatre Scholar, Dies at 79, PlaybillGlover, William (11 January 1979). Showbiz addict compiles handbook on musical theater, Eugene Register-Guard (Associated Press story) In reviewing an updated version of American Musical Theatre in 2011, Playbill wrote that the book had "altered the scope of American musical theatre history" and "remained the only book of its kind, and an invaluable one."
Bordman grew up in the Wynnefield neighborhood of Philadelphia and graduated from Central High School and Lafayette College, later earning a master's degree and Ph.D. in medieval literature at the University of Pennsylvania. He published The American Musical Theatre four years after selling the family's business, Excell Chemical Products, which manufactured mothballs, among other things. He went on to write over a dozen volumes on American theatre, including biographies on Jerome Kern and Vincent Youmans, despite having limited musical training.Burns, Diane Hubbard (4 September 1980). He Gives His Regards To Broadway, Palm Beach Post
Bordman died of cancer in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania on May 9, 2011, at age 79.(11 May 2011). Gerald Bordman dies at 79: Scholar wrote 'American Musical Theatre', Variety
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